2 Louisiana sheriff's deputies die in ‘ambush’ responding to earlier shooting
2 Louisiana sheriff's deputies die in ‘ambush’ responding to earlier shooting
Published August 16, 2012
FoxNews.com
Two sheriff's deputies in Louisiana have been shot to death and two others injured after an early-morning shootout in St. John the Baptist Parish, west of New Orleans.
SUMMARY
- 2 deputies killed in 'ambush'-style shooting
- 5 suspects are in custody, 2 hospitalized after shooting
- Authorities say there are no remaining suspects
- Gov. Jindal says the suspects will face the fullest extent of the law
Authorities identified the deceased officers as Brandon Nielsen, 34, and Jeremy Triche, 28. The Times-Picayune reported that the injured officers are Michael Scott Boyington, 33, and Jason Triche, 30.
The first shooting occurred around 5:30 a.m. in a parking lot used by workers in an area of manufacturing plants and refineries along the Mississippi River.
Louisiana authorities say the two sheriff's deputies were killed in an "ambush" after they responded to reports of a traffic officer being shot multiple times early Thursday morning near an isolated parking lot for a Valero refinery.
Residents at the Riverview trailer park notified police about a speeding car, which matched the description of the car used in the earlier shooting, Michael Kerry Tregre, the St. John the Baptist sheriff, said.
The two officers were interviewing an individual underneath some blankets. During the interview, another person exited the trailer with an assault weapon and "ambushed" them, Tregre said.
"Another person exited that trailer with an assault weapon and ambushed my two officers," Tregre said. Two deputies were killed and a third was wounded. Two suspects were wounded in the shootout before officers subdued them, Tregre said.
Louisiana State Police have taken over the investigation. The investigation is considered “hot” and ongoing.
There are five people in custody, authorities said. Two of them were hurt in the shooting and are hospitalized. It was unclear how officers managed to take the suspect with the assault weapon into custody.
Authorities do not believe there are any additional suspects.
"Air support and local law enforcement combined with us," Trooper Evan Hallel, told FOX-8. "We got feet on the ground and people in the woods.
We're trying to gather all the information that we could at this time."
Two officers in the earlier shooting suffered gunshot wounds and are hospitalized. One is currently undergoing surgery.
The Times-Picayune reported that deputies were outside the emergency room at River Parishes Hospital, which is holding Officer Jason Triche. He reportedly suffered multiple injuries to his kidney, spleen and bladder.
Governor Bobby Jindal released a statement calling the shooting a "terrible act of violence."
"The Louisiana State Police will be working in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies to fully investigate this incident and make sure the suspects are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," the statement read.
The superintendent for St. John the Baptist Parish was told not to open a nearby school, but authorities say there is no public threat.
Valero Energy Corporation said in a statement that its "thoughts and prayers" are with the officers and their families. Refinery operations have not been affected, the statement said.
2 Louisiana sheriff's deputies die in
Sheriff: Suspects in killings of 2 Louisiana deputies linked to anti-government extre
Sheriff: Suspects in killings of 2 Louisiana deputies linked to anti-government extremists
By Associated Press, AP
NEW ORLEANS — At least some of the seven people arrested in a fatal shootout with Louisiana deputies have been linked to violent anarchists on the FBI’s domestic terrorism watch lists, a sheriff said Saturday.
Detectives had been monitoring the group before Thursday’s shootout in Laplace in which two deputies were killed and two more wounded, said DeSoto Parish Sheriff Rodney Arbuckle. His detectives and other law enforcement discovered the suspects were heavily armed adherents to an ideology known as the “sovereign citizens” movement.
The FBI has classified “sovereign citizens” as people who believe they are free from all duties of a U.S. citizen, like paying taxes. The FBI considers the group’s members a danger for making threats to judges and law enforcement, using fake currency and impersonating police officers.
The seven suspects have been charged in the shooting of Deputy Michael Scott Boyington, who survived. But authorities have said murder charges are pending.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was investigating the killings but declined to comment Saturday and referred questions to the Louisiana State Police, the lead investigating agency.
Arrested were the group’s apparent leader, 44-year-old Terry Smith, his wife, Chanel Skains, 37, and his two sons, Derrick Smith, 22, and Brian Lyn Smith, 24. Also arrested were Brittney Keith, the girlfriend of Brian Smith; Kyle David Joekel, 28, and a woman living with him, 21-year-old Teniecha Bright.
Brian Smith was charged with attempted first-degree murder and the others with related charges.
Detectives in Tennessee, Nebraska and Louisiana have sketched a portrait of an outlaw gang led by a 44-year-old accused molester named Terry Smith, who has a criminal record dating to 1984 in Morehouse Parish, the Times-Picayune reported Saturday.
Morehouse Parish Sheriff Mike Stubbs said the Smith family was notorious. He said they lived for a long time in a house on the outskirts of Bastrop.
“We had a good bit of dealings with them,” he said. He said the Smith brothers had been involved in theft and drugs.
Arbuckle, reached by telephone by The Associated Press, said his deputies had the group under surveillance and considered them armed and dangerous before they suddenly left his parish about two months ago. He said they had set up camp at a mobile home park while they working at an International Paper plant.
The sheriff said deputies became suspicious after they investigated a reported burglary in May at the park’s laundry. The detectives discovered members wanted under warrants issued in Tennessee, Nebraska and Louisiana.
“Once we had them on our radar we started doing research on them,” he said. Arbuckle said his detectives monitored the group until they left in November.
Sovereign citizens are a loosely organized movement founded in the 1970s and more fully developed in the 1980s, according to the Anti-Defamation League website. Sovereign citizens believe that all levels of government have no jurisdiction over them and resist — sometimes with violence — authority including police, the website.
They also like to use what is dubbed “paper terrorism.” It involves using frivolous lawsuits and fake documents and of using genuine documents such as IRS forms to intimidate, harass and coerce public officials, law enforcement officers and private citizens.
Arbuckle said his detectives could easily have been the victims instead of the St. John the Baptist Parish deputies killed and wounded. Deputies Brandon Nielsen and Jeremy Triche were killed and along with Boyington, Jason Triche was wounded. The Triches were somehow related, authorities said.
“We understand they had some pretty good firepower,” Arbuckle said. “This very well could have been us” in the gunfight, he said.
He said the group traveled the country in trailers doing construction work and possessed a stockpile of weapons.
They were arrested after an early morning assault on Boyington led to the deadly shootout in the mobile home park in Laplace, a suburb west of New Orleans. Boyington was shot at the entrance of a parking lot used by contract workers on a job at a nearby oil refinery. He was working off-duty on a security detail at the lot.
Shortly thereafter, the other deputies were shot at the trailer park where a car involved in the first shooting was spotted.
Joekel and Brian Smith were hospitalized with gunshot wounds and will be jailed once they are out of the hospital. The others were jailed with bonds ranging from $350,000 to $750,000.
The Gage County, Neb., Sheriff’s Office website listed Joekel among its most wanted fugitives, saying he is accused of making “terroristic threats” to patrons of a Nebraska bar and law enforcement officials.
Sgt. Len Marie, a state police spokesman, said investigators were amassing evidence. He said the agency had received the reports from the DeSoto sheriff and other law enforcement agencies in other states.
He said the FBI and Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was involved.
He said it was too early to verify links to the extremist groups associated with the sovereign citizen movement.
“We are confident that we have the people responsible for this in custody,” Marie said.
Sheriff: Suspects in killings of 2 Louisiana deputies linked to anti-government extremists - The Washington Post
